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Tag: Bukola Saraki

  • NASS: Tinubu can resolve APC crisis – Majekodunmi

    NASS: Tinubu can resolve APC crisis – Majekodunmi

    A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Femi Majekodunmi, on Friday expressed the confidence that the crisis within the party resulting from the emergence of the leadership of the eighth National Assembly would be resolved soon.

    Majekodunmi,  said the National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has the political sagacity to handle the matter and urged him to begin the process of reconciling all the parties involved in the crisis.

    The medical doctor – cum politician who spoke with  reporters in Abeokuta at the weekend, said given the immense contribution of Tinubu to the successes recorded by the party, the onus on him to save the ruling party from what could lead to its factionalisation.

    According to him,  the former Lagos State governor has the skills needed to call a meeting of the major stakeholders of the party where the crisis which erupted over the election of Senator Bukola Saraki as Senate President and Hon. Yakubu Dogara, as Speaker, House of Representatives respectively, can be settled once and for all.

    Majekodunmi, a close associates of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, maintained that going to court by the aggrieved party will bring further damage to the APC.

    He said, ”  It is important for the leadership of the party to learn from and also move a step ahead of what happened when both Hon. Dimeji Bankole and Hon. Aminu Tambuwal were elected Speaker of the House of Representatives even when they were not the preferred candidate of their party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which did not sanction them.

    “With what Asiwaju Tinubu has done in the past, the time has come for him to deploy his political know-how to tilt the leadership of the party towards genuine reconciliation through a meeting of the necessary stakeholders which will make Nigerians not regretting voting for the party in the last general elections.”

    The Baagbile of Egbaland further enjoined the APC National Leader not to have any candidate for any position among members of the party, stating that his role in the present political dispensation should be that of father to all with no preferred or anointed member.

    He said the APC has to be careful not to give room for the opposition to come to limelight, noting that the PDP will always be happy to capitalise on the foibles of the ruling party to catch the attention of Nigerians.

    “It is in the interest of the leadership and teeming members of the party not to play into the hands of the opposition party whose major prayer will be for the APC to fail and disappoint Nigerians through its actions and in-actions,” he said.

  • Saraki, Dogara were wrong – APC Scandinavia

    Saraki, Dogara were wrong – APC Scandinavia


    The All Progressives Congress (APC) Scandinavia Chapter has vehemently condemned the result of the elections held at the National Assembly on Tuesday which produced Senator Bukola Saraki as senate president.
    The APC Scandinavia Chapter condemned  what it called the ‘manner and way, Saraki and his APC cohorts treacherously worked against the party to emerge the president of the 8th Senate and Honourable Yakubu Dogara as speaker of the House of Representatives respectively.
    “It is ignominy and derogatory drama that some APC members could pull together with PDP members to elect a PDP deputy Senate president and majority leader of the 8th Senate.
    “It is a clear pointer that some APC members are still having the mindset of Jonathan led administration in the present APC led administration,” noted Ayoola Lawal, National Coordinator, APC Scandinavia Chapter.
    According to Lawal, the chapter urges the national leadership of the party to weigh in and set the record straight by meting out the appropriate sanction and punishment against any individual or group for any anti-party activity.
    “This is a litmus test and a clear opportunity for the party leadership to send the clear signal that the party’s interest supersedes any individual ambition or interest and this is real change and business unusual,” he maintained.

     

  • Nigeria deserves best governance – Saraki

    Nigeria deserves best governance – Saraki

    Senate President, Bukola Saraki, on Friday said Nigerians deserve the best of governance.

    Saraki, who spoke while receiving the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr. Andrew Pocock, in his office, also commended the existing bilateral relationship between Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

    He told the British envoy that the present administration is determined to fulfill its obligations to the Nigerian people.

    The Senate President commended his guest for reinvigorating the mutual understanding that exists between both countries.

    He insisted that Nigeria would always look forward to Britain in areas of infrastructural development and social security, adding, “I am very delighted to receive Your Excellency in my office barely 48 hours of my resumption of office.

    “This shows the level of commitment the British government has towards the cause of Nigeria.

    “We look forward to a very good working relationship in order to move our dear countries forward. Nigerians deserve the best of governance.”

    The President of the Senate was quick to remind his guest of the task ahead for the new administration in Nigeria.

    He, however, assured the envoy that with the collaboration from the UK, those challenges would be surmounted.

    Earlier, Dr. Pocock congratulated Saraki on his election as the Senate President.

    Pocock added that the UK would work closely with the Nigerian government to ensure good governance at all levels.

     

  • Saraki, Dogara: APC diaspora calls for sanctions

    Saraki, Dogara: APC diaspora calls for sanctions

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) Scandinavia Chapter has vehemently condemned the result of the elections held at the National Assembly on Tuesday which produced Senator Bukola Saraki as senate president.
    The APC Scandinavia Chapter condemned  what it called ‘manner and way, Saraki and his APC cohorts treacherously worked against the party to emerge the president of the 8th Senate and Honourable Yakubu Dogara as speaker of the House of Representatives respectively.
    “It is ignominy and derogatory drama that some APC members could pull together with PDP members to elect a PDP deputy Senate president and majority leader of the 8th Senate.
    “It is a clear pointer that some APC members are still having the mindset of Jonathan led administration in the present APC led administration,” noted Lawal Ayoola, National Coordinator, APC Scandinavia Chapter.
    According to Ayoola, the chapter urges the national leadership of the party to weigh in and set the record straight by meting out the appropriate sanction and punishment against any individual or group for any anti-party activity.
    “This is a litmus test and a clear opportunity for the party leadership to send the clear signal that the party’s interest supersedes any individual ambition or interest and this is real change and business unusual,” he maintained.
  • APC rejects Saraki, Dogara

    APC rejects Saraki, Dogara

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected the newly elected leadership of the National Assembly, saying it will use all constitutional and legal means to resolve the leadership tussle in the Assembly.

    The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said in a statement shortly after the emergence of Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki and Hon. Yakubu Dogara as Senate President and Speaker of the House respectively that the elections that produced the duo were unacceptable to the party.

    Mohammed described the processes as highest level of indiscipline and treachery, adding that no individual should place himself above the party.

    The statement said, “Senator Bukola Saraki and Hon. Dogara are not the candidates of the APC and a majority of its National Assembly members-elect for the positions of Senate President and House Speaker respectively.

    “The party duly met and conducted a straw poll and clear candidates emerged for the posts of Senate President, Deputy Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives, supported by a majority of all Senators-elect and members-elect of the House of Representatives.

    “All National Assembly members-elect who emerged on the platform of the party are bound by that decision. The party is supreme and its interest is superior to that of its individual members.

    “Consequently, the APC leadership is meeting in a bid to re-establish discipline in the party and to mete out the necessary sanctions to all those involved in what is nothing but a monumental act of indiscipline and betrayal to subject the party to ridicule and create obstacles for the new administration.”

    The party decried a situation in which some people, based on nothing but inordinate ambition and lack of  discipline and loyalty, will enter into an unholy alliance with the very same people whom the party and indeed the entire country worked hard to replace and sell out the hard won victory of the party.

     

  • Saraki dumps APC to run with Ekweremadu

    Saraki dumps APC to run with Ekweremadu

    • Bloc votes
    • plan collapses
    • Ex-Kwara governor shuns Ndume, Goje, others

    Plans to get Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senators-elect and members of the House of Representatives-elect to vote en bloc for principal officers during today’s inauguration of the Eighth National Assembly collapsed yesterday.

    There was also a split among the PDP governors on who to support between Senator Ahmed Lawan and Senator Bukola Saraki for Senate president.

    But The Nation learned this morning that at a meeting of PDP Senators-elect in Abuja, 28 agreed to back Saraki/Ike Ekweremadu ticket; 17 agreed to back Lawan/Akume ticket. That was after Saraki decided to work with PDP in a desperate move to win the race.

    Some senators and members-elect rejected the suggestion by Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose that PDP senators should vote Saraki.

    Lawan at the weekend emerged the choice candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) after a mock election by the party’s senators-elect. But the Saraki camp rejected the straw poll and vowed to contest for the position on the floor today.

    The APC is the majority party in the Senate, with 59 senators-elect. The PDP has 49 senators.

    It was learnt that at a meeting held by the PDP caucus on Sunday night in former Senate  President David Mark’s residence in Apo, Abuja, the divided PDP senators-elect and their governors were said to have threatened to draft one of them into the race if the APC failed to agree on a consensus candidate.

    Some of the PDP senators said to be rooting for Saraki allegedly suggested that they should forge a vibrant opposition on Tuesday by voting against the APC consensus choice as a signal of what form of opposition to expect in the Senate in the new dispensation.

    The PDP senators were said to have contended that voting against APC’s preferred candidate would signpost a resolute stand to keep the PDP alive.

    A source at the meeting said a former principal officer in the Seventh Senate was the brain behind the proposal.

    The source said most of the senators disagreed vehemently with the suggestion.

    Those opposed to the suggestion, it was learnt, averred that toeing the line of action would only serve the interest of a few, particularly the governors, rather than that of the PDP as a party.

    The source noted that most of the senators agreed that “we should wait and see what the APC senators will come up with”.

    He said: “The surprise of the night was that some of the governors who former President Goodluck Jonathan laboured to install were those at the vanguard of the Saraki project, a man who practically destroyed PDP.

    “Most senators at the meeting viewed supporting Saraki as robbing Peter to pay Paul.

    “They contended that it will be bad politics to reward a man who took up arms against his party, destroyed it and moved to build another one.”

    The meeting was said to have ended without the Senators taking a final decision on who to back for Senate president.

    A former acting National Publicity Secretary of PDP Chief Bode Ojomu, yesterday warned the party against supporting any of its defectors from either being the Senate President or the Speaker.

    Another source said: “At the end of the day, we could not agree on bloc votes for any of the candidates for the Senate and House of Representatives. Governor Fayose pleaded with party leaders to see the battle as one between the PDP and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. He begged the party to ‘clip’ Tinubu’s  wings.

    “But some senators-elect warned Fayose against going personal. They queried the morality behind PDP supporting candidates who defected from the party to the APC. They alleged that their defection led to the defeat of PDP at the polls.

    “The governors were also split on who to back for the National Assembly offices.”

    “At the end of the day, we could not reach a consensus on casting our votes en bloc for either of the candidates. I can tell you that everyone is on his own.”

    The difficulty in arriving at a consensus has created an upset in Saraki’s camp.

    It was gathered that those who are pro-Saraki were trying to strengthen the accord between their candidate and the immediate past Deputy President of the Senate, Chief Ike Ekweremadu.

    The latest plot will lead to Saraki dumping Senator Ali Ndume as his favourite for Deputy President of the Senate.

    Another source added: “They will continue to sell a dummy to Ndume that he will be Deputy President of the Senate if Saraki gets the ticket.

    “But as soon as Saraki wins, they will nominate Ekweremadu who is expected to deliver the bloc votes of the Senators-elect from the SouthEast in collaboration with Senator Andy Uba.”

    Uba and Ekweremadu could not be reached for comments last night.

    It was gathered that the collapse of consensus by PDP has created a serious setback for Yakubu Dogara who is seeking to contest for Speaker of the House of Representatives with the party’s candidate, Femi Gbajabiamila.

    Dogara could only garner support from 55 out of the 209 APC members-elect for the House of Representatives.

    Another source said: “Dogara had banked on permutations that 120 PDP members-elect will vote for him but his hope was dashed last night by the split in the party.

    “In fact, to earn the support of PDP, he was mandated to mobilise at least 70 members-elect from the APC. But Dogara is stranded as he could only secure the backing of 55 members-elect from the APC.

    “As it is now, the moves to frustrate Gbajabiamila’s aspiration have failed. This is why they have resorted to blackmail and wild-chase in the court.

    “Some pro-Dogara members-elect were also last night whipping up religious sentiments to set the core North against the party’s candidate.”

    Ojomu warned the PDP against supporting any of its defectors from either being the Senate President or the Speaker.

    He said those who defected from PDP to APC could not turn back to the party they decimated for succour.

    Ojomu, in a statement, warned the PDP against playing politics of “pay back time” against the APC.

    The statement said: “It is worrisome to observe that many of those who walked out were former PDP members who joined the APC and are acting out exactly the same script of ‘give a dog a bad name to hang it’ adopted as strategy to exit from the PDP for their safe landing in the APC.

    “Today, by their actions and inactions alongside, other several factors left PDP comatose and one wonders if everybody acted like them who will be PDP senators and House of Representatives members to be now courted to defend their interest for victory at all cost against their ruling party’s official position.

    “They decimated the PDP and now want to rely on it as strength to climb to number three and four in our nation. That’s crass opportunism and the PDP leaders in the Red and Green Chambers should not provide themselves as ready tools for self-serving pursuits.

    “Strengthening party supremacy, party discipline, national stability and cohesion in government are the gains of PDP in National Assembly, standing firm that any political party official position or policy shall stand.

    “Nigeria needs men of stable character. After all, those who stand for nothing fall for anything. The men and women that constitute the Nigeria’s Legislature must stand for something and in these circumstances it is principled position on party supremacy, notwithstanding that the former A.C.N botched that principle in the choice of speakership in 2011.“

    Ojomu said the APC had the right to put forward those who should be on its platform in the National Assembly leadership.

    The statement said: “Let it be noted that if the party was ever right to sponsor senatorial/House of Representatives candidate for election, it must also be right to determine who to put forward on its platform.

    “No responsible political party in a democratic process that outlaws individual, independent candidate for elective offices will abdicate its historical and natural responsibility to present a sole candidate for each of the NASS Principal Offices.

    “It will be unconventional for APC to watch helplessly for its members to contest in a free for all manner in the Red and Green Chambers.

    “The gladiators need to drop sophistry in their argument and be educated that there is nothing undemocratic in the ruling party adopted open balloting process as opposed to secret balloting that was preferred by contending parties. Option A4 adopted in the Third Republic with SDP and NRC was adjudged one of the best democratic processes this country has ever witnessed. You queue behind your preferred candidate or party.”

  • We must be hopeful of Chibok girls’ return – Saraki

    We must be hopeful of Chibok girls’ return – Saraki

    Former governor of Kwara state, Senator Bukola Saraki has urged Nigerians particularly families of the abducted Chibok school girls to be optimistic of their safe return.

    Over 200 Government Secondary School girls, Chibok, Borno state were a year ago allegedly plucked from their dormitories by the Islamist Boko Haram sect and whisked away to unknown destination.

    In a statement, Senator Saraki described the act as bestial, terroristic and human tragedy.

    The leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara state added that: “Today (Tuesday) we pause to remember the kidnapping of the Chibok School girls. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families, friends, and communities.

    “A year may have passed since they were taken, but our sympathy and solidarity with their families, remains as strong as ever; and so does our revulsion at the acts of terror committed. I have been emboldened by the character and courage that the families of the girls have shown over the last year.

    “I would like to take this opportunity to support the comments made by President-elect Muhammadu Buhari earlier today (Tuesday). He is right to throw the full weight of the administration behind our efforts to find the missing girls.

    “But he is right too, not to make naive claims about the ability of any government to commit to find the girls. We must remain hopeful of their return, and steadfast in our determination to find them, but not make the same mistakes of the previous administration in promising what we cannot guarantee to do.

    “Today, we must remember the acts of terror that took place one year ago, and the innocent girls that still suffer as result of those acts. We must remember those acts first and foremost as a human tragedy.

    “But secondly, we must remember and understand the underlying reasons why those acts took place, and embed a new determination and resolve into our strategy to defeat Boko Haram.”

  • NASS will probe elections’ postponement – Saraki

    NASS will probe elections’ postponement – Saraki

    Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment and Ecology, Senator Bukola Saraki, on Monday vowed that the National Assembly will investigate the recent shift in poll dates by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    INEC had shifted the February 14 and 28 elections to March 28 and April 11 respectively following submissions to it by the National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, that the armed services would not be able to guarantee security this month.

    Saraki in a statement in Abuja said: “As soon as the National Assembly reconvenes, we will look into this issue of postponement and take steps to ensure that our electoral process is not tampered with any further. As leaders of this nation, it is our duty to protect our nascent democracy.”

    “While we recognise the severity of the security challenges facing Nigeria today, sadly, these challenges are not new. It has been almost a year since Boko Haram kidnapped 200 of our schoolgirls in Chibok.

    “Thousands of men, women, and children have now died at the hands of Boko Haram and thousands are displaced. However, security should not be used as an excuse to delay our elections and obstruct democracy.

    “The delay in elections is an obstruction of democracy led by President Goodluck Jonathan and PDP. APC has been calling for a free, fair, and transparent elections for our country.

    “The delay in elections hinders this call. INEC is expected to act independently but unfortunately is being guided by government who believe they are about to lose an election and have decided to stop the election to re-strategize.

    “For the first time in Nigeria, we are seeing a seating government run away from election.

    “For over three years, President Jonathan has failed to make national security a priority. How then does President Jonathan now expect the people to believe him when he says he will tackle the terrorist group in six weeks?

    “The international community has continued to support our view that there must be peaceful, free, transparent and credible electoral processes in Nigeria and that the country’s security forces would remain impartial so Nigerians can vote safely and without undue delay.‎

    “They are disappointed about the recently announced postponement. President Jonathan and INEC must be aware that the eyes of the world are on them.

    “I charge Nigerians to be calm, non-violent and steadfast. We must be determined to make sure postponement does not demoralize or disenfranchise us. We must see this as a challenge for us to remain resolute in yearning for a new democratic government; one that will not see itself as above the people.”

     

  • Jonathan has impoverished Nigerians, say Ahmed, Saraki, Abdullahi

    Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, Senator Bukola Saraki and ex-Sports minister, Bolaji Abdullahi, on Friday passed a damning verdict on President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

    The trio accused the Peoples Democratic Party led government of impoverishing Nigerians.

    They spoke in Ilorin, Kwara State, at presentation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates for the 2015 elections in the state.

    Abdullahi said Nigerians are more economically impoverished than six or seven years ago, adding that yet they claimed that “our economy is improving.”

    He said: “When Senator Bukola Saraki was the governor of the state, many of our supporters and members could afford to build houses and buy cars, but these days the text messages we receive border on money to keep body and soul together. They now want us to continue in that our hunger status for another four years. To add insult on injury they say the country’s gross domestic product is increasing, that the Nigeria’s economy is one of the best in Africa.

    “The money that the PDP people are filtering away is what they term GDP. That is none of our business, I urge us all to cast our votes for Gen. Muhammadu Buhari in the next month presidential election and Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed in the governorship election.

    “In March 2014, when President Goodluck Jonathan came to Ilorin, then I was the minister of sports, they said I should mount the podium at this same metropolitan square and haul abuses at Senator Bukola Saraki. But being a true son of Ilorin, I cannot not bite the finger that feed me, it was the same Saraki that brought me from Lagos and made me a special assistant, from special assistant to special adviser. As if that was not enough, the then governor of Kwara State appointed me as a commissioner and subsequently nominated me for ministerial job.

    “This, our leader has foresight, he told us before our defection from Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC that PDP was like a sinking ship. It was then that some people felt they would sit by the driver of sinking ship. The Senator also told us then that PDP is a God forsaken party.”

    Governor Ahmed said that the financial emasculation of the state has hampered infrastructural development.

    “The dwindling allocation from Abuja notwithstanding, the state government has not defaulted in paying workers’ salaries as at and when due. We have not relented in creating jobs for our teeming youths.

    “I urge us all to close rank and sweep PDP-led government away at all levels. The other day, I told you that PDP’s umbrella was already leaking. That is apparent to all of us now,” the governor stated.

    Saraki said,“if the President Jonathan could not control Nigerian economy when one barrel of crude oil was over $100 per barrel, how can he manage the economy when a barrel is about $50?”

    “PDP says that we are abusing Mr. President. We are not abusing Mr. President. We have all the respect for the Presidency, we are talking of facts and figures.  PDP and Mr. President promised Nigerians security is their security today? You promised power, is there light today? You promised to fight corruption, is there any change today? You promised to provide job for all our youths, any job today. These are not present today.  We are not being personal, we are talking about issues.

     

  • My thoughts on Bukola Saraki @ 52

    My thoughts on Bukola Saraki @ 52

    AN attempt to periscope the life of Dr. Bukola Saraki, our political leader and Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is not only onerous but tasking because of his many sides as a banker, administrator, politician and philanthropist.

    Senator Bukola Saraki was the governor of Kwara State from 2003-2011, during which he brought many innovations to education, agriculture, aviation and governance, including digitalization of government activities which is better termed e-governance.

    He moved Kwara State away from the traditional civil service state for which it had hitherto been known for many years by opening up the economy for direct foreign investment and commercialization. He attracted young and dynamic minds to boost the economy of the state, bringing in many Kwarans in Diaspora.

    I was privileged to represent the incumbent governor of our dear state, Alhaji Abdulfattah Ahmed, at a function put together by Kwara indigenes under the aegis of KSANG in the United States of America in August this year.

    I learnt during my visit in the states that the body owed the former governor a plethora of gratitude by helping her to ward off her fledging challenges in those days. Our sons and daughters that agreed and yielded the clarion call to participate in the re-building vision of Dr. Saraki are doing well in both government and private sectors, several years after he had left office. It takes a progressive leader, such as Saraki, to sustain a vision by identifying and assembling a formidable team.

    As a product of the private sector myself, with a track record in the banking, stock broking and financial advisory services, I know that the economy of this state is on a fast track to sustainability. The incumbent has not in any way dismissed the vision at all, as it can be seen in the Shared Prosperity Programme of the current administration.

    The aggressive infrastructural development, as embarked upon by Governor Abdulfattah Ahmed in the last three and half years, given available resources, is key ingredient to sustainable growth and development.

    Saraki has been a major contributor to national politics and national development. Also, his contributions as the Chairman Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) will forever remain indelible in the political history of Nigeria.  The late President Umaru Musa Yar’dua was so sensitive to identify the strategic position of the NGF under the watch of Saraki to the success of his programmes and policies.

    That Saraki was the moving spirit behind the nPDP that broke away from the PDP to align with the All Progressives Congress (APC) was not a mere coincidence; it is the culmination of a well researched and determined efforts at rescuing Nigeria from the hands of a drifting and clueless administration at the centre. The APC as a party has since gained momentum and the contribution of Senator Bukola Saraki cannot in anyway be discounted by any means.

    The former governor of Kwara State will play a very prominent and stabilizing role in the years ahead as Nigerians move to rescue the country from the clueless and directionless administration at the helm of affairs. 52 hearty cheers to one of the moving spirits of a New Nigeria!

     

    -Ibiwoye is the Deputy Director-General, Kwara South Senatorial District, Mandate Campaign 2015